Tales from the Gunpowder Chronicles by Jeannie Lin

Author:Jeannie Lin [Lin, Jeannie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jeannie Lin

“Why do you think you failed last time?” Kuo Lishen poured another round of drinks as he asked the question.

They were sitting at one of Kuo’s favorite drinking spots, a local tavern on the corner of the Guojizan hutong. It was a stone’s throw from the Academy which always offered the possibility that an official might come by for a drink.

“You studied pretty hard, right? Night and day.”

It was an open wound for Zhi-fu, so of course Kuo insisted on jabbing at it.

“I should have studied harder.”

Kuo Lishen made a rude noise. “You wouldn’t have passed no matter how hard you studied,” he declared, tossing back his liquor to punctuate the statement.

“Then why didn’t you pass?” Zhi-fu countered.

Kuo slammed his cup open side down on the table to show he’d finished his drink. “I didn’t study hard enough.”

There was a sparse crowd at the drinking house tonight. The term had just begun after all. Tonight’s patrons were here to reunite with old friends and take measure of the new class.

They had started the night with a group of their fellow classmates, but now it was just the two of them left. Regardless, Kuo Lishen always acted like he had an audience. Zhi-fu had been here for an hour and he was starting to conclude that this evening was indeed a waste of time.

“I suspect you didn’t pass because of who you are,” Kuo Lishen continued, wagging a finger at him.

“You think I angered someone?”

Kuo Lishen looked annoyed. “I don’t mean Jin Zhi-fu, specifically. I mean who your father is. Your family.”

Zhi-fu frowned at that. He righted Kuo Lishen’s cup and poured the next round out of politeness. In truth, he was pretty much done drinking until Kuo had brought up this bit about some personal vendetta getting in the way of his examination score.

“I hadn’t heard of any feud—”

“You wouldn’t ever hear of any. Do you realize that you and I are the same? Even though your family has a military appointment and my family is just of the lowly, extremely wealthy merchant class.” Kuo leaned forward which meant Zhi-fu had to do the same. “The scholar-elite doesn’t want us to be added to their exalted ranks.”

Zhi-fu drank, the liquor searing a path down his throat. He didn’t like hearing what Kuo Lishen had to say, likely because there was truth to it. He’d been asked by Academy officials repeatedly if he would consider taking the military exams.

“So how is that ever going to change?” Zhi-fu asked. If Kuo Lishen truly had something to show him, he had better do it quickly. Zhi-fu’s patience was hanging by a thread.

Kuo Lishen smiled. Then the smile widened to a grin.

“Come with me, Jin Zhi-fu.”

As he stood, a heavy weight hung onto his shoulders. The truth was, Zhi-fu was tired. Not physically. It was only a little past the Hour of the Rat, just past the middle of the night. Not late at all in the realm of the student quarter.

Zhi-fu was tired of the games, the subterfuge.

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